1. HTRLLAP Chapter 6: When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare…
Stephen Grover
Period: 4
9/22/11

2. What’s this all about?
This chapter describes Shakespeare’s style of writing and how modern literature evolved from it. It tells of the usage of Shakespeare related stories in the modern times. Foster notes, “More commonly there is this kind of dialogue going on in which the new work, while taking bits from the older, is also having its say” (Foster 44).

3. They change every time.
Over time, Shakespeare is interpreted differently by the writers of the different ages. Everyone has their own way of reading and comprehending him. Foster declares, “He’s never the same: every age and every writer reinvents its own Shakespeare” (Foster 38).

4. Who is “the Bard”?!!
In this chapter, there is a constant reference to “the Bard”. Who is this Bard? Why, it's Shakespeare, of course! He is nicknamed “the Bard” due to the fact that he is an excellent and well-known poet. Foster emphasizes, “If you look at any literary period between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries, you’ll be amazed by the dominance of the Bard” (Foster 38).

5. It’s not as bad as you may think…
Many readers have branded Shakespeare and his works as complicated and incomprehensible. While his writing is superb, it is obscured by the outdated vocabulary and word choice. On the positive side, modern TV shows have changed our view of Shakespeare’s literature to a more fun experience. Foster notes, “Their retelling was set in the Old West and completely free of Elizabethan English” (Foster 38).

6. Don’t Plagiarize!
While the writers aren’t “plagiarizing” by the exact definition, they ARE copying the general ideas and themes of Shakespeare’s literary works. They choose a story and modernize it in a way that the average person could understand. Foster admits, “It’s worth remembering that comparatively few writer slavishly copy bits of Shakespeare’s work into their own” (Foster 44).

7. Quotes, quotes, and MORE quotes.
Shakespeare is an amazing writer, and one thing that makes him stand out above most writers is his ability to write a phrase and make it memorable. He does this through his quotes. Foster quotes Shakespeare, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (Foster 41).

8. What the Dickens???
Shakespeare’s influence is so profound and immense, that his literature became a part of everyday life. For example, Charles Dickens wrote an entire chapter in Great Expectations that had nothing to do with the main plot line, describing Mr. Wopsle putting on a play of Hamlet. Dickens writes, “And I grieve to add that peals of laughter greeted Mr Wopsle on every one of these occasions” (Dickens 206).

9. And why do I care about any of this?
The ideas of Shakespeare’s literary works tie together with everyday life. They echo universal themes of love, tragedy, life, and death that appear throughout the ages.

10. WORKS CITED
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Chatham, Kent, Great Britain: Wordsworth Editions Limited Print. Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc., Print.